Cathy's Law; Can a Left-Wing Social Worker Be Tough on Crime? Scotland's New Justice Minister Squares Up to the Neds - and the Critics

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Byline: LINDSAY McGARVIE Political Editor

FEMALE, left wing and a former social worker.

Cathy Jamieson's credentials as Scotland's new Justice Minister have outraged the hang 'em and flog 'em brigade.

Jamieson, 47, insists you don't need to be a rabid, right-wing Tory to want to tackle crime head on. Like most Scots it impacts on her life.

Walking her dogs near her home in Ardeer, Ayrshire, she found two youths trying to break into a car. Jamieson tackled them - and they fled. She said: "It was only afterwards I thought how stupid it was."

She insists that her sex, political beliefs and former profession do not make her soft on crime. …